How is using the privacy busting "Cloud" convenient if you are using USB anyway? It's not. A search for a phrase is faster than syncing two devices.

Cloud services are convenient for big companies to make money out of the users. The user becomes a product.

If you use the Internet--and I'm guessing you do, given you post here :-)--and have a smartphone, and have an email provider, to varying degrees you are using the 'cloud' already. You have data, both sensitive and non-sensitive, passing through someone's servers, or sitting in their database. Even just your ISP has a lot of data about your online life. Pretending that you are somehow isolated from the cloud, just because you don't sync your books or reading data on Amazon's servers, is a bit of wishful thinking IMHO. Just like the data on your smartphone and your computers, you can be more or less secure with your data in the cloud, depending on what providers you use, what apps you use, and what practices you follow. For instance, you can use one of the big cloud file store providers like Onedrive or Dropbox, and be completely secure and private with your data IF you setup client side encryption so that your files are encrypted LOCALLY before they are sent over the wire. Then, it doesn't matter if you have a snoopy provider that scans your files for whatever purpose--they cannot read them even if they wanted to. And if you are super paranoid and want to be REALLY secure, you should be encrypting all your local data that you care about too, if those computers are connected to the Internet. Bottom line: IME cloud services need not be any more or less inherently secure, or invasive of privacy, than your own devices. It's what YOU do that makes it secure, or not.

That said, I don't blame you for wanting to keep your reading data private from Amazon, it's a perfectly reasonable choice. For myself, and apparently a few others who enjoy using Amazon's cloud services for reading data, it's quite convenient and a nice toolset for reading. I don't mind Amazon knowing what I'm reading at this point (if I ever need to read something that's THAT private, I'll just read it in paper or keep it offline and out of Amazon's servers, maybe create a separate "offline books" library in Calibre if it becomes a big need--so far, I don't have a single book like that). In fact with my regular book collection, I'm considering opening up my reading notes onto Goodreads intentionally to be more 'social' with my reading.

I've never tried. That may be something to look into, as long as it's not something that would have to be set up again after every firmware update. I tried using KOReader on my Kobo, and gave it up because it had to be re-installed every time the firmware updated.

I can not stress enough how much I hate having to connect my reader to my computer. It's why I got a Kindle in the first place. For most things in my life, I love to tinker, and take them apart and re-configure. For my e-readers, though, I just want to read my books and not mess with them in any way.

I do follow the dev forum, and I have jailbroken my Oasis and a few other of my Kindles...just for the fun of doing it. I've also played with KOReader on my Kobo, but gave up when I realized I had to re-install with every firmware update.

If you use the Internet--and I'm guessing you do, given you post here :-)--and have a smartphone, and have an email provider, to varying degrees you are using the 'cloud' already. You have data, both sensitive and non-sensitive, passing through someone's servers, or sitting in their database. Even just your ISP has a lot of data about your online life. Pretending that you are somehow isolated from the cloud, just because you don't sync your books or reading data on Amazon's servers, is a bit of wishful thinking IMHO.

There is a difference between online services and "Cloud" storage. Also between paid for "Cloud" storage and a service provided by Amazon, Kobo etc.
1) All my paid for content is backed up.
2) Big Tech companies offering supposed "free" Cloud services are mostly breaking the law and snooping on your content.
3) My own paid for hosting has been more reliable than Microsoft & Google in the last year.
4) I'd easily transfer my email, domains, hosting etc elsewhere. Amazon and other content providers are closed. You can't transfer unless you ALREADY made local backups of everything.

I do buy books from Amazon and elsewhere. I do not rely on their Cloud services for that content! It's madness. I might put a copy of something of mine on a private password controlled area of my own hosting. I'd not send it to Amazon. Amazon's Kindle service is not the same privacy as their AWS (which I'd not use either).

There are SO MANY issues and law breaking by so many "Cloud Services" it's not funny.

If you suspect there is a privacy issue with your ISP or email supplier, then in EU they are breaking the law. I used to work at a senior level in an ISP. To compare an EU ISP to Amazon Kindle service or Google's Email service is insulting.

There are issues with some US mobile and fixed broadband suppliers. Complain to FCC if you are in the USA and are affected.

Amazon already ceased a retail "Cloud" service. They've said they won't delete books again. Frankly all the major US Internet companies have been proven to be unreliable, some extremely dishonest and most breaking EU law, many breaking US laws too.

There is a difference between online services and "Cloud" storage. Also between paid for "Cloud" storage and a service provided by Amazon, Kobo etc.
1) All my paid for content is backed up.
2) Big Tech companies offering supposed "free" Cloud services are mostly breaking the law and snooping on your content.
3) My own paid for hosting has been more reliable than Microsoft & Google in the last year.
4) I'd easily transfer my email, domains, hosting etc elsewhere. Amazon and other content providers are closed. You can't transfer unless you ALREADY made local backups of everything.

I do buy books from Amazon and elsewhere. I do not rely on their Cloud services for that content! It's madness. I might put a copy of something of mine on a private password controlled area of my own hosting. I'd not send it to Amazon. Amazon's Kindle service is not the same privacy as their AWS (which I'd not use either).

There are SO MANY issues and law breaking by so many "Cloud Services" it's not funny.

If you suspect there is a privacy issue with your ISP or email supplier, then in EU they are breaking the law. I used to work at a senior level in an ISP. To compare an EU ISP to Amazon Kindle service or Google's Email service is insulting.

There are issues with some US mobile and fixed broadband suppliers. Complain to FCC if you are in the USA and are affected.

Amazon already ceased a retail "Cloud" service. They've said they won't delete books again. Frankly all the major US Internet companies have been proven to be unreliable, some extremely dishonest and most breaking EU law, many breaking US laws too.

I assume that if you Undo then no highlight will get logged to myclippings.

Not true according to this person on reddit. "... but now my "My Clippings" is extremely polluted with accidental highlights, which the "undo" button that came with the new quick highlightw feature doesn't remove"

Quote:

Originally Posted by tomsem

Your previous posts said nothing about sideloading books. Which is why the statement is qualified with “if you store your documents in the cloud...’. Maybe the comment is of no use to you, but you are not the only person reading posts here. It just seemed to me worth noting.

I assume that if you Undo then no highlight will get logged to myclippings.

If it were this simple then I think there wouldn't be people complaining. Some people are complaining about the quick-highlights because the selection gets copied to MyClippings the moment you lift your finger.

It's similar to plugging it into a charger. Actually if left on the computer it charges.

Maybe you have a computer with a horrid OS or awkward to get at USB ports. Do you ever use a USB HDD to back up your computer files?

Can you explain why this is so hateful?

I'm not sure. It just seems to be completely ridiculous to have to connect a device that's supposed to be portable into a computer using a wire. Even back when I was using the old "personal organizers" I resented having to plug it into the dock in order to sync it with my computer. As soon as the Treo came out and was able to be synced wirelessly I bought one, and I haven't looked back.

I know that it sounds irrational, but it's the way I feel.

As to your question about using a USB Hard drive as a backup, yes, I do, and it's connected permanently to my computer. I also use Carbonite as offsite backup. What I don't do, however, is plug and unplug USB drives to my computer on a regular basis.

I also have multiple USB Thumb drives that I use for working on Client computers...they have various tools helpful when fixing computers that won't boot or connect to the Internet for whatever reason.

"it's connected permanently to my computer." Then it's not a true backup.

The USB drive that is connected to my computer is in case of simple hardware failure. If there is a fire, flood, or some similar event that destroys the entire computer beyond repair, I have my carbonite backup.

Of course, in addition to the backups mentioned above, I also have my ebook library stored on all of my various Kindles, as well as being stored in my Kindle cloud and my One Drive.

"it's connected permanently to my computer." Then it's not a true backup.

It protects against any but the largest power surges, accidental data loss, filesystem corruption... sounds like a backup to me. It won't protect against the house burning down, but that's what my other backup (an encrypted USB HDD swapped out irregularly for another one 200 miles away) is for. The offsite backup disk is smaller and cheaper and is only backed up to once per week: the "onsite" permanently-connected one is huge and updated every couple of hours: I use bup, which while arcane is good for insanely frequent backups, since each one only takes a minute or two. (Everything important is also kept elsewhere on the net courtesy of Tahoe-LAFS and/or git.)

I may go too far in backing stuff up. but it's damn useful to know that if you make a lethal typo you won't have lost more than an hour or two of stuff no matter what. (I am working on improving things so that the backups are truly continuous, trickled out so that only a few seconds of data will normally be lost.)

(... but I don't back up my Kindle. Sodding DRM makes that more or less pointless.)

The USB drive that is connected to my computer is in case of simple hardware failure. If there is a fire, flood, or some similar event that destroys the entire computer beyond repair, I have my carbonite backup.

Yes, that's exactly what I do, too. I've only ever lost data as a result of hardware failure. The most serious loss I experienced was the result of dropping an external USB drive onto my tiled kitchen floor, which completely killed it. That cost me three months' worth of photographs, and taught me the value of regular backups. Now I back up the drive (using "Synctoy") every time I add a new batch of photos, books, or whatever.

In future please take care to understand what a thread is about and confirm your answers for yourself before posting.

God help you if you ask for the best e-ink device to read pdf files, specifically stating you don't want an LCD device. Like moths to the flame, they will come, reccomending tablets and ipads. Half the time.they don't seem to read the OP. It's a human thing. Few listen, most broadcast.

Yes, that's exactly what I do, too. I've only ever lost data as a result of hardware failure. The most serious loss I experienced was the result of dropping an external USB drive onto my tiled kitchen floor, which completely killed it. That cost me three months' worth of photographs, and taught me the value of regular backups. Now I back up the drive (using "Synctoy") every time I add a new batch of photos, books, or whatever.

That surprise me. USB drives are robust. Or do you mean a mechanical hard-drive?